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CVS calls itself a “pharmacy innovation company,” so it is not the first place one thinks of when considering places to buy chocolate. However, the options for chocolate products in the 24-hour Cambridge, MA location claim a surprisingly large section of aisle space. More than half of the candy aisle is taken up by chocolate, and their aisle dedicated to holiday and seasonal products is also predominantly filled with holiday-themed chocolate items. There’s a tantalizing array of similar chocolate products lined up in the checkout line, neatly packaged for individual, one-time consumption. And for a customer who wants to try something fancier, there is an aisle endcap labeled “Premium Chocolates.” There are some interesting trends in the options available for purchase. With the exception of the small premium chocolate selection, all the chocolate is milk chocolate, most of it consists of chocolate in combination with another food such as peanut butter, caramel, or fruit, and all the options that I could find were produced by one of the four largest chocolate companies: Mars, Nestle, Hershey, and Cadbury. In fact, a lot of the options were simply the same product in different forms. A customer can buy a 2-pound bag of individually wrapped mini Reeses, or a bag of even smaller unwrapped Reeses, or an 8-pack of large Reeses, or an individually-wrapped large Reeses, or a bag of Easter-themed Reeses shaped like bunnies or eggs. It’s all peanut butter surrounded by a milk chocolate layer, but the customer can choose at least six different forms in which they’d enjoy eating this product. Additionally, most of these chocolate products were on the lower end of the price range. For only about two dollars, a customer can buy individually-wrapped chocolate items of up to eight ounces. Even the premium chocolate endcap is dominated by yellow stickers denoting huge sales. A picture of this is shown below.

(image taken by me)

A customer can buy two chocolate bars and get the third for free, and the most expensive bar was eight dollars.

Compiling these observations, we can see that CVS primarily sells inexpensive, sugary milk chocolate products produced by huge chocolate companies who are very focused on packaging, and that CVS branches out a little bit with their premium chocolate selection but still focuses on keeping the price down. Why is this? CVS is a drugstore where people shop to find household conveniences, health products, and snacks. According to one article, CVS tries to sell to all Americans because everyone needs pharmaceuticals, but its target market is the elderly. CVS is not primarily a food store, so it makes sense that CVS would try to sell chocolate products that are most likely to appeal to its target demographic of middle-class and elderly Americans. CVS is doing well as a company, so its products must be selling well. We can see, then, that the average American enjoys buying milk chocolate that is sugary, brightly packaged, and produced by Nestle, Mars, Hershey, or Cadbury. The explanation for why Americans prefer this style of chocolate lies in our history. Sugar production, industrialization, and aggressive marketing all contributed to the way our chocolate industry looks today.

Until the 1700s, sugar was a luxury product in Europe. People knew of its existence, but it was too expensive to eat frequently and was consumed primarily by the upper classes. Demand for sugar continued to grow, however, so from the 1500s onwards, European powers established sugar plantations in the Caribbean, imported slaves from west Africa to labor on them, and competed with one another to become the foremost sugar exporters. Britain, France, and Portugal were the most successful with sugar production and trade. Most of the sugar produced in their colonies was consumed back in Europe as demand continued to grow and grow. By the mid-1700s, sugar was a regular feature of most Europeans’ diets (Mintz 5-45). By 1850, the price of sugar in Britain dropped sharply due to new economic policies that navigated away from protectionist policies for colonies and towards free trade (Mintz 61). This decrease allowed sugar to become even more of a necessity to English diets, and since sugar was cheap, it served as a substitute for other, more expensive foodstuffs for working class people (Mintz 161). These same trends happened in the United States. The combination of the facts that sugar is cheap and that humans have a strong sweet tooth have contributed to the fact that more and more of our diet consisted of sugar until we have gotten to where we are now: a society that adds sugar to nearly all processed foods. This explains why we like our chocolate so sugary; we like everything sugary.

This still doesn’t explain, however, why only four chocolate companies produce the chocolate we see in CVS. This limited brand choice is due to two main, overlapping factors: first, American industrialization allowed for huge economies of scale, allowing factories to mass-produce items such as chocolate at low prices. Second, a couple chocolate factories captured the American market while chocolate was still a new item and the American taste for chocolate was still forming, causing Americans to crave a certain flavor of chocolate that only those companies could produce. In the mid-1800s, the Industrial Revolution took off in the United States as people figured out how to use non-human sources of energy to power large factories that used automated processes to mass-produce items on great scale. This led to the rise of the working class and their mass demand for affordable foods. The mass manufacture of foods, then, became very important where it had previously been a small market (Goody 85). There were massive improvements in “four basic areas: (1) preserving; (2) mechanization; (3) retailing (and wholesaling); and (4) transport” (Goody 72). All of these innovations allowed for food to be produced and processed on a larger scale than ever before, shipped everywhere in the country for consumption, and sold at the lowest prices it had ever been. Processed food became a necessity in the working class diet, and mass production of foods by large-scale companies is still the way that most of our food is produced today. Chocolate is one of these foods that became mass-produced, and the first company to mass-produce chocolate in the United States was Hershey.

Hershey conceived a new business strategy that was previously unused by sweet-makers: he produced vast amounts of his products at low prices instead of making a lot of products at varying prices. This allowed him to sell his Hershey Kisses and bars to nearly “every grocer, druggist, and candy store owner in America” (D’Antonio 123). His strategy worked, and Americans liked the candy so much that Hershey made $3.6 million dollars in sales in 1911 and $5 million dollars in sales in 1912 (D’Antonio 123). Hershey has been a permanent fixture in American culture ever since. One explanation for why Hershey chocolate has stayed so popular in the United States is because it introduced a distinct flavor of chocolate to Americans before they had tried any other flavor of chocolate. Americans came to associate the Hershey flavor with true chocolate, and would be reluctant to try anything else. Europeans, meanwhile, often dislike the slightly sour taste of Hershey chocolate (D’Antonio 108). Other chocolate companies had to come up with their own innovations to compete successfully with Hershey’s initial chocolate monopoly. Mars company, for example, was mainly successful because it came up with the idea of enrobing other sweets in chocolate and selling it as a chocolate bar. This allowed Mars to sell a much larger “chocolate” bar than Hershey for the same price because other ingredients were cheaper than the chocolate, and this larger bar for the same price was very appealing to consumers (Brenner 57-59). The original Mars bar consisted of chocolate-covered nougat and caramel, and looked about three times as thick as a Hershey bar. We can see an advertisement below for the original chocolate Mars bar, where it emphasizes that it consists of 3 flavors.

Mars had the same flavor of chocolate as Hershey-in fact, Mars initially bought its chocolate from Hershey- so the only difference in products was the added nougat and caramel. Mars quickly became as successful as Hershey and competed for market share. These large companies were able to produce chocolate extremely efficiently, so they were able to sell their products at lower prices than local confectioners (Brenner 188). The large companies soon outcompeted smaller ones, and thus most of our chocolate today is produced by massive companies that can sell us chocolate for the lowest prices.

There are signs, however, that consumers are starting to pay more attention to factors other than flavor and price when purchasing chocolate. Now that chocolate is so affordable, Americans are starting to be concerned with the way in which chocolate is produced: is it fair to the cacao growers? Is it ecologically sustainable? Does it have health benefits? According to Kristy Leissle, demand for organic, healthier chocolate is on the rise (23), which is reflected by the resurgence of artisan chocolate makers. The number of bean-to-bar chocolate artisans has risen from one to thirty-seven from the 1970s until now (Leissle 23), and the number keeps growing. Recently, there has been an emphasis on how organic, dark chocolate has health benefits and is tastier than mass-produced milk chocolate. More and more Americans are buying “premium,” especially dark, chocolate (Bean to Bar 167). This growing interest in fine chocolate is reflected in CVS’s small “Premium Chocolate” section. CVS itself is attempting to become a more health-oriented drugstore. It stopped selling cigarettes and is stocking its shelves with healthier options overall (Thau). This could explain why CVS is selling some darker, higher quality chocolates. However, all of the premium chocolate that CVS sells is still made by large companies that put their chocolate through a lot of processing. The brands available are Ghiradelli, Lindt, and Chuao: all large and well-known companies with not much of an emphasis on producing their products in an ecologically and ethically sound manner. This is likely because although CVS is making steps to sell more healthy, environmentally conscious products, it still must appeal to its target audience, which wants inexpensive and convenient snacks. These brands of premium chocolate are more expensive than typical American milk chocolate, but they are still much less expensive on average than artisan bean-to-bar chocolate, or than organically produced chocolate. CVS is thus striking the balance between healthier, socially conscious options and low price options. Overall, the options at CVS are a fairly accurate reflection of American trends towards chocolate overall. Americans are still hooked on extremely sugary, processed chocolate and are not willing to pay high prices for candy, but are starting to demand more dark chocolate due to its health benefits and common linkage with socially conscious initiatives.

Works Cited

“About.” CVS Health. CVS, n.d. Web. 5 May 2017.

Brenner, Joël Glenn. The emperors of chocolate: inside the secret world of Hershey and Mars. New York, NY: Broadway , 2000. Print.

Headquartered in rural Pennsylvania, over 87% of Hershey’s total revenues are based in North America, despite corporate strategies promoting global market expansion. Of Hershey’s twelve production facilities, ten are in North America and only two are in Asia.[1] Despite production and consumption based in the United States, the Hershey name has made a significant impact internationally through its association with the American military. This relationship heightens the dichotomy between cacao as a source of sustenance and a luxurious treat. Cacao promotes athletics and war on the one hand, pleasure and enjoyment on the other. In the U.S., Hershey supplied ration bars for soldiers. Its classic candies have bridged cross-cultural divides from World War I through the Berlin Airlift, the swamps of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq.

The first documented histories of chocolate reveal the origins of the bean’s association with both indulgence and nutrition. Civilizations in Latin and South America recognized that “Armies travel on their stomachs.” The Aztecs, for example, believed that chocolate provided energy to fighters, who consumed the beverage before battle. [2] This tradition extended to European society. Britain’s Cadbury proclaimed that its cocoa, “Makes men stronger,” while Hershey deemed its chocolate bar “A meal in itself.”[3] Enjoyment of chocolate thereby spread from royal circles to the masses while it maintained its association with energy and success.[4]

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Soldiers continued to rely on chocolate as portable, high-energy fuel. In the French and Indian War, Benjamin Franklin sent each colonial officer six pounds of chocolate. The Continental Congress set price controls on cocoa, and the Americans rejoiced after the British left behind pounds of chocolate at the Fort of Ticonderoga.[5] World War II marked the intersection between the commercialization of chocolate production and the mass mobilization of armies. Mars created M&M’s in 1932, after Forrest Mars saw Spanish troops eating chocolate beads encased in sugar (to prevent melting). Mars sold M&M’s exclusively to the US military during WWII until turning to the public market in 1948.[6]

While Mars approached the U.S. to begin their relationship, the state reached out to Hershey.[7] The Office of War Information popularized the “militarization of food” through posters, film shorts, radio broadcasts, and propaganda that the Allie would win from combining democratic institutions with productive capitalism.[8] The initial request for Hershey in 1937 was for a 4 ounce bar, high in energy, resistant to heat, and tasting “little better than a boiled potato.”[9] The resulting product was terribly dense, earned the moniker “Hitler’s Secret Weapon” for its effect on the digestive system, and found itself more often discarded than eaten. Hershey continues to revise the recipe, introducing new iterations from Korea to Vietnam.[10]

Sugar-filled, traditional version of American chocolate became tools of diplomacy across language, culture, and generational gaps, a narrative that Hershey helped build. World War I saw troops from opposing trenches across the western front held a temporary truce in December of 1914.[11] British soldiers shared Rowntree chocolate biscuits, sent to support soldiers from its headquarters in York. They broke the biscuits together and then they played friendly games of football, at least until the war resumed the next week.[12] During World War II, this process began at home. Hotel Hershey interned 300 Vichy diplomats in the United States from 1942 through late 1943, since C-suite officials of Hershey offered the Hotel to the State Department.[13] Diplomats and wealthy businessmen, including the Hershey family and even the Vichy diplomats, continued to frequent luxury French dining establishments to enjoy chocolate, despite rationing restraints.[14] Meanwhile, the general public was forced to remove sugar from large parts of their diet.[15] Thus, the elite continued to mix chocolate and business, while soldiers and the poor traded in traditional sweet treats for subpar alternatives.

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Chocolate from the United States began to foster goodwill among noncombatants soon thereafter. Operation Vittles earned international acclaim during the Berlin Airlift, when 1st Lt. Gail Halvorsen included a few pieces of candy for children in his drops. Soon, his fellow soldiers began to participate, chipping in Hershey treats from their rations. As the public grew aware of the effort, corporations began to donate massive shipments of candy. Ultimately Halvorsen dropped 12 tons of candy and gum for the children of West Berlin from his C-47.[16]

Memoirs of American soldiers exchanged dropping candy out of planes for personal contact with children through candy. David Todeschini arrived in Vietnam as a medical aid provider at age 19. In his first visit to an orphanage, he recalled how,

[The children] ran out to greet us, asking for candy bars, and to have their pictures taken. We had a box full of assorted candies, chocolate, and peanuts donated by the GIs on base, which we distributed immediately upon our arrival; the cache being depleted in less time than it took for the medics to unload their medicine and equipment from the jeeps.[17]

Though the friendship began with sugar and smiles, he argued that the children “sure took notice of us, and it certainly goes beyond the fact that they always begged us for chocolate and candy—you could see it in their eyes, and many of us could see ourselves in their faces.”[18] Steven Alexander expressed similar sentiments in his memoir. The soldiers dreaded receiving C-ration boxes with tropical Hershey chocolate bars, too hot ever to melt and inedible. He instead found joy through chocolate by giving children Hershey bars and then seeing their reactions. Alexander reflected, “I only wished I had a real chocolate Hershey bar from home so she could really enjoy the candy. But she seemed to be happy with what I gave her.”[19] His tropical bar ration may not have added to his happiness, but the classic Hershey treat let him give temporary good cheer to others.

However, these relationships sometimes soured. Todeschini recounted a horrific, heart-wrenching dilemma that faced some of his comrades. The Vietcong began using children as weapons, playing on the moral affinity of American soldiers for local children:

Here comes an innocent child running down a dirt path, barefoot, and carrying about five or 6 pounds of high explosives heading right for you. The child may be racing several others to get there first; to be the first to get a Hershey bar. You know that in 10 seconds, you, your comrades, and the children will die.[20]

Could any man bring himself to shoot? The Vietnam War left behind some valid, anti-American sentiment. However, many of the soldiers attempted to build relationships with local communities based on trust, companionship, and shared appreciation for Hershey. These efforts sometimes ended tragically, but they facilitated an image of generosity regarding American soldiers toward Vietnamese children.

Most recently, the U.S. Air Force has been engaged in dropping food, water, and medicine to people struggling in remote areas, separated from relief by fighting. Another single pilot began this wave, this time Master Sergeant Stephen Brown, who added a little candy to each drop before his peers joined him.[21] Of the 109 bundles of 10,545 gallons of water and 7,056 Halal Meals Ready to Eat, each contained Hershey bars, Starbursts, or other sweets. Brown reflected that they hoped to provide “something that will make a dire situation a little brighter, even if it’s just for a few moments.”[22] Though Hershey remains a distinctly American brand, its reputation has thus extended overseas through the military, from the trenches of France to the desserts of Iraq. Hershey chocolate’s role in military rations and in civilian contacts recalls a dichotomy that has existed since the earliest days of chocolate, between sustenance and pleasure. However, the reality that Hershey chocolate, in both cases, is provided by Americans to soldiers and to children, respectively, shows that it continues to reflect a legacy of luxury and elite access, even in this arena.

[8] Carruth, 770; U. S. Office of War Information, Food for Fighters, 1943, http://archive.org/details/FoodforF1943. This short film argued that “Food correctly used means fighting strength for our soldiers and better health for civilians,” discussing food plants, university laboratories, and quartermaster corporal studies. These promoted “good food in plenty of variety,” supplied on the front using repurposed assembly lines from candy companies.

[10] For more information on the evolution of Hershey through military research, alongside other food developments, see Anastacia Marx de Salcedo, Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way You Eat (New York, New York: Current, 2015). These chocolate bars have remained relatively unpalatable given the difficulty of replicating the melting temperature of good chocolate once eaten without turning into a puddle in desert heat.

[11] Iain Adams, “A Game for Christmas? The Argylls, Saxons and Football on the Western Front,” International Journal of the History of Sport 32, no. 11 (June 2015): 1395.

[13] This hotel was the center of the resort town centered on the Hershey factory in Pennsylvania. The State Department did pay Hershey a $256,643 bill, and the Hotel reopened to the public the next year. Jackie Kruper, “A Sweet Prison Camp,” World War II 20, no. 2 (May 2005): 58–60.

[15] The poor, at this point, relied on inexpensive treats like chocolate for 30% of their daily calories, so the rationing significantly impaired their nutrition. Sidney W. Mintz, Sweetness and Power (New York: Penguin, 1985), 256.

The Tasting Theme

I wanted to explore the nationality of chocolate and more specifically, what is considered to be “American chocolate” by an American consumer. I was also interested in the recognition and recall of chocolate based upon based experiences and memories and chose samples that I believed would invoke emotional recognition.

Chosen Samples

In order to properly test recall, I wanted to include samples that the participants were most likely to have had before and for this reason, I included bars ranging in price and quality that can all be found at the Harvard Square CVS pharmacy and store. For my first four samples, I stuck with the theme of milk chocolate and included bars ranging in price from $2.19 to $4.19. For my fifth sample, I included a dark chocolate bar with a twist to potentially confuse and challenge the participants to use their tasting skills and abilities to guess the composition and brand of the bar. I included the following five chocolate bars:

Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar

By Muse Bedri (Hershey’s Website) [FAL], via Wikimedia CommonsI decided to include the infamous Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar as it is considered to be the “Great American Chocolate Bar” and holds this reputation even today after first being introduced to the chocolate scene in 1900. Hershey’s can be found on shelves almost anywhere due to an original business decision by the Hershey’s company to produce large quantities of fewer varieties. (D’Antonio, 121) For this reason, among many others, Hershey’s is one of the most well-known chocolate bars in America. Today, the bar is featured in many different varieties including the Hershey’s Almonds and the Special Dark chocolate bars, however, I decided to focus on the original milk chocolate variation.

Due to the freshness of the milk used in the creation of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, the bar has a sour, tangy taste to which the American chocolate consumers have become accustomed. (Wjb’s Blog) Additionally, the Hershey’s bar is unique in that the smells of the bar almost exactly mimic the taste of the bar. Upon smelling a Hershey’s bar, you can recognize it by its very sweet, yet strangely tangy smell. A standard sized Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar (1.55 oz) costs 2.19 at my local CVS pharmacy and convenience store. In order to allow for my taste testers to be blind to what they are about to taste, I broke the bar into the individual squares and halved each. I then used a knife to scratch off the iconic Hershey’s logo to ensure this bar could not be recognized solely by its appearances.

Godiva’s Milk Chocolate Bar

From the World Wide Chocolate Website

In order to gauge the ability to taste the difference in origin of production of the chocolate, I decided to include a few European brands, such as Godiva which was founded in Belgium. Often times, Godiva is marketed as a gifting chocolate and is heavily available during holidays such as Valentine’s Day. Additionally, Godiva has a reputation as a “finer” chocolate and is often associated with a hazelnut flavor profile. One critic associates Godiva with “heavy notes of caramel and cream” and recognizes it to be a very sweet milk chocolate flavor profile. A standard sized Godiva’s Milk Chocolate Bar (3.5 oz) costs 4.19 at my local CVS. As you can see in the image depicting the Godiva Milk Chocolate Bar, each of the chocolate squares has one of the two designs engraved upon them: either the Godiva text logo or the iconic horse logo. As with the Hershey’s bar, I used a knife to scrape of the logos to ensure the bar could not be recognized solely by its appearances and then broke each piece in half.

Lindt Milk Chocolate Bar

From CVS Website

Lindt originated in Zurich, Switzerland and is now enjoyed in over 100 countries including the United States. Due to an expansion of its New Hampshire facilities in 2010, which includes a new cocoa processing plants, Lindt is one of only a few chocolate manufactures to control the entire process of chocolate creation. (Lindt Chocolate Unwrapped). The Lindt flavor profile is known for being incredibly smooth and creamy, both qualities of a good milk chocolate. One blog described the bar as being “smooth and creamy, without tasting too rich, it’s what you want in a milk chocolate bar…no weird notes or whiffs of anything off-tasting–it’s just chocolate done right.” (Zimmer) A standard sized Lindt’s Milk Chocolate Bar (4.4 oz) costs 3.69 at my local CVS pharmacy and convenience store. The unique visual appearance of this bar was rather easy to hide and I had to lightly scrape off the logo.

Dove’s Milk Chocolate Bar

From Real Simple Magazine Website

The Dove brand is made and marketed by the American Mars Company, a latecomer to the milk chocolate industry, and is found on the shelves of many grocery stores and convenience stores and is one of Hershey’s main rivals. (Allen, 21, 200) The Milk Chocolate variety comes in a bar form, but is mainly sold in packages with individual pieces of chocolate, known as Dove Individuals, and is popular for the inspirational messages found on the inside of the wrappers. The main ingredients in a Dove Milk Chocolate Bar (listed in order of prevalence) are sugar, cocoa butter, skim milk, chocolate, milk fat, chocolate processed with alkali lactose, and soy lecithin. One critic found the alkali ingredient to be indistinguishable and gave the overall review of “a bit too sweet” and “a bit better than the old Hershey’s standby.” A standard sized Dove’s Milk Chocolate Bar (4.4 oz) costs 2.67 (slightly more expensive than Hershey’s) at my local CVS pharmacy and convenience store. Despite being in bar form, the Dove milk chocolate bar is unique in that each piece that breaks apart from the bar into a piece with rounded sides, thus resulting in a distinguishable form factor. In order to circumvent this and keep the chocolate sample anonymous, I cut the pieces in square by cutting off the rounded edges and then scraping off the logo.

Lindt Dark Chocolate with Chili

From Amazon Store Website

As can be seen in the Amazon reviews for the Dark Chocolate with Chili bar, the general public agrees that this bar is only subtly spicy and requires a taster to really pay attention to the different notes of the flavor profile. (Amazon.com) The chocolate and chili flavor profile is intriguing and satisfies the dark chocolate fanatics while not being “so scorching hot as to be uncomfortable or so powerful as to overwhelm the taste of chocolate.” (Amazon.com, “Doug Erlandson”) A standard sized Lindt Dark Chocolate with Chili Bar (3.5 oz) costs 3.59 at my local CVS pharmacy and convenience store. As with the previous Lindt sample, the identity of this chocolate sample was rather simple to hide.

Tasting Session

The Participants

I invited 3 friends of various chocolate and food and drink tasting abilities. Participant 1 is a self declared “chocoholic” who enjoys snacking on chocolate most days of the week. Participant 2 is not the biggest fan of chocolate but thoroughly enjoys food and has a deep appreciation and comprehension of the different flavors and mouth feels he experiences through his diet. Participant 3 is enrolled in wine seminar and declares herself to be a chocolate snob.

Tasting Format

In order to answer questions having to deal with chocolate recall and recognition, I decided to employ a blind taste test. The first 4 bars were arranged in the order of: 1.) Dove, 2.) Lindt, 3.) Hershey’s and 4.) Godiva. Originally, the participants were only given the information that the four bars were all milk chocolate products that could be found in most stores; the brands of chocolate possible were not revealed initially. I encouraged the participants to employ the techniques used in our own chocolate sampling during class through the examination of the look, feel, snap, smell, taste, and mouthfeel of the bars. I desired for this session to be a collaborative experience amongst the participants and did my best to remain an observer as to not give too much information or lead my participants. Additionally, after each sample, I asked the following questions:

1.) Have you had this chocolate before?

2.) If so, in what setting did you consume this product?

3.) What emotions or memories do you associate with the flavors of this chocolate sample?

4.) How much do you think this products costs for a 3-4 ounce bar?

The participants tasted one small piece of each sample back to back with commentary immediately after the tasting of each. After this, I told the participants which brands were amongst the samples and encouraged them to match the samples to the brands. After the participants completed this exercise, I introduced the fifth sample “for fun” and gave them no information regarding the chocolate type, brand or ingredients. I then encouraged the participants to use the same methodologies to identify as many pieces of information as they could about this chocolate sample.

Tasting Results

Do we know what we are tasting?

As expected, every participant was able to identify the Hershey’s Bar (even without being told it was a brand included in the sample set) and the Godiva Bar (after being told it was a brand included). In fact, after participant 2 sampled the Hershey’s she stated with much force and emotion the following: “That’s awful, it must be Hershey’s, this is the worst chocolate and the other previous samples are real chocolate; this is not.” After sampling the Godiva bar, participant 2 indicated that this bar was more “caramelly[sic]” than the others and participant 3 noted the nutty quality of the bar in comparison to the others.

Before the included brands were revealed, the participants were not able to blindly identify the Dove and Lindt sample; however, every participant indicated that they had definitely tasted these samples before. The only confusion was in distinguishing between the Lindt and Dove samples. Participants 2 and 3 correctly labeled these samples after some time to retry the samples and re-evaluate. However, the final answer of participant 1 swapped the identification of these two chocolate samples.

Regarding price, the participants indicated that they believe the Hershey’s bar to cost about $2, which is rather accurate as this bar cost $2.19 at CVS. All participants placed Godiva as the highest priced chocolate and one participant even guessed the amount of “a little over four dollars,” which is pretty close to the $4.19 price point. Participant 2 approximated the Dove bar to be slightly more than Hershey’s, which is appropriate as it is $0.49 more expensive. All participants agreed that Lindt is cheaper than Godiva but closer to its price point on the pricing and quality scale.

The fifth chocolate sample, the Lindt Dark Chocolate with Chili bar, was isolated to be dark chocolate immediately by all participants and each participant noticed the chili ingredient at varying points in the tasting stages. Participant 3 was even able to correctly identify the brand and name of this sample and indicated that it was one of her favorites.

Chocolate and Memories

Hershey’s:

By Evan-Amos (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia CommonsEvery participant was able to recognize the Hershey’s bar through their own experiences having it while making s’mores. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars have been the golden standard for s’mores making as it is “gritty and chalky in bar form” and its ability to
transform[s] into a magical ooze when multiple by intense heat, graham crackers, and marshmallows.” (Zimmer) Participant 3 indicated that she associated Hershey’s with “cheap neighbors who hand out bad chocolate during Halloween” and participant 1 indicated that she is only willing to eat Hershey’s while camping and s’mores. Every participant stated that they do not willingly seek out Hershey’s and don’t even consider it a convenience chocolate.

Dove:

Participant 1 indicated that the Dove sample reminder her of CS50 grading parties, or events in which large amounts of snacks are provided and those in attendance eating these items out of convenience. Participants 1 and 3 also identified Dove as a “convenience chocolate” but also associate it with eating large quantities with a friend after a rough day. Participant 3 makes this association because the chocolate product is rather cheap and she appreciates the inspirational messages found on the wrapper.

Lindt:

Participants 1 and 2 are not as familiar with Lindt, however, participant 3 identifies Lindt as a gifting chocolate in which you are buying a friend a gift that you would like to enjoy with them. She also identifies the chili chocolate specifically with romance and she appreciates the cacao percentages because “since there isn’t as much milk to cover up the flavor” she is able to properly enjoy the chocolate.

Godiva:

Participant 2, the single male participant, identifies Godiva with gifting chocolate for a member of the opposite sex in which he has a romantic interest. He imagines the “lady on the horse” logo is partially responsible for this along with the higher price point that establishes Godiva as a finer and superior chocolate.

Chocolate and Emotions

A constant theme discussed in this context of this course is the notion of sensory recall to invoke emotions or memories that may be associated with a particular food item. A constant theme I noticed from my research through the chocolate tasting is that my participants associated certain flavors and smells from the chocolate samples with their own experiences and emotions. To quote a New York Times article discussing the smells of chocolate, “People seem to believe from their own experiences that odors are special, in the sense that they can recall very vividly.” (Associated Press) I definitely found this to be true as each participant had their own personal and special version of a story or experience with which they associated that particular chocolate sample based upon their initial reaction to the chocolate through smell. Part of why I believe this to be true is perhaps due to chocolate’s ability to enhance the memory. In this same study, the control group that was exposed to the smell of chocolate during a comprehensive word exercise recalled an average of 21% more of the words they encountered during the exercise than those that were not exposed to chocolate. (Associated Press)

Conclusion:

Based on my observed results, I disproved my own hypothesis that consumers are not superb at recall and recognition when it comes to blindly tasting chocolate. However, I did learn that people are more likely to recognize that which they are consuming due to the memories and emotions invoked by the smells and flavors of the chocolate product. Although consumers may not be able to completely recognize the different notes and qualities of every chocolate bar they taste, chocolate is such a special and glorious food item due to its ability to quite literally capture the hearts of its consumers by helping them relive special moments and memories.